The invention relates to a closing seal and to a method for the production thereof.
Closing seals of this type are used, for example, as seals on container closures, in particular luggage containers during transportation. They constitute an ID safeguard, and therefore an identification of goods, in order to able to establish the identity at the customs. Exacting requirements should be imposed in particular on ID safeguards. Closing seals used for this purpose basically have                to withstand normal use,        to be easily checked and re-identified,        to be created in such a manner that any breakage or removal leaves behind traces which can be seen with the naked eye,        to be produced for single use, or, in the case of reusable closures, to be created in such a manner that each renewed application can be identified by means of a single sign,        and to be provided with distinguishing marks.        
Apart from these basic properties, the shape and dimensions of the closing seals may differ depending on the type of closure; however, the closures have to be dimensioned in such a manner that the distinguishing marks are readily legible. Apart from this, the closing seals have to be tamper-resistant or forge-proof. The material has to be provided in such a manner that the closing seals are not inadvertently broken or unnoticeably forged or reused.
Apart from the use of closing seals as an ID safeguard, closing seals can be used for a multiplicity of different situations. For example, postbags, boxes with lids, medicine cabinets, inspection flaps, switching cabinets, armatures, valves, etc. are sealed.
A closing seal with a closing body, a connecting element and an insertion part connected to the latter, wherein the insertion part can be inserted in the direction of insertion into a closing mechanism of the closing body and is held by the closing mechanism counter to the direction of insertion is known, for example, from DE 199 59 229 A1. Said closing seal is composed of plastic and is designed as an injection-molded part. Only a single connecting element which is connected to the closing body is provided in this case. A similar closing seal is known from DE 103 14 940 A1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,194 describes a closing seal which is designed as a strip with an undercut point. The point can be inserted into a hole in the strip, the hole being arranged at a distance from the strip end assigned to the point.
Furthermore, a closing seal of “The Tyden Seal Company”, Michigan, USA that is available commercially under the name “Tyden Seal” forms the prior art. This involves an ID safeguard in which a metallic closing strip has a hole in the region of one end and the closing strip is mounted in the region of its other end in a ball which has a slot for the insertion of the strip end first mentioned. The strip end which is mounted in the ball has two open metal rings. If the strip end which is provided with the hole is inserted into the ball, the two rings are displaced by said movement such that the two rings pass through the hole in the inserted end and, in the process, the rings are transferred into their closed position, and therefore the strip end which is provided with the hole cannot be pulled out of the ball.
GB 2 265 114 A discloses a plastic closing seal in which the closing body is formed by a cup-shaped receptacle, a closing mechanism which can be inserted into the receptacle and a closing cover which is connected to the receptacle via a film hinge. After the closing mechanism is inserted into the receptacle, the closing cover is inserted into the receptacle and is welded to the latter by means of ultrasound. The closing cover is provided with a through-opening such that an insertion part with front studs can be brought through the latter into engagement behind the closing mechanism. The insertion part is connected to the closing body by means of a connecting element which is designed as a plastic web.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,442,812 describes a sealing device in which a metallic container has a closing body in a region facing the cover and a side surface of the container, with an insertion opening of the closing body in the cover region of the container. A connecting element is fastened to the container in the region of the cover, with that end of the connecting element that faces away from the container being connected to an insertion part. A further connecting element is connected to the base of the container, with that end of the connecting element that faces away from the base being provided with a hole. This further connecting element can be brought such that its hole is aligned with the insertion opening of the closing body and is then inserted through the hole into the closing body in order to secure said connecting element in the insertion part.
A further closing seal is known from GB 2 139 156 A.
The closing seals discussed in respect of the prior art have the disadvantage that they do not fully satisfy the basic properties mentioned at the beginning and sometimes are also not forge-proof.